Hello Everybody! I have not written a blogpost in a while. Why am I writing today? Well, it is TGOW’s Two-year anniversary. Oh, how fast two years has gone by...
I cannot have lasted this long without some key people that have come on the team and supported me in big and small ways. I am grateful to my friend Lauren, who has stayed on from nearly the beginning of when TGOW was conceptualized even as her schedule has gotten incredibly busy. I am grateful to my intern Hailey, who lives several states away from me and who has not even met me in person, was inspired by our mission and wanted to join our team to contribute in whatever way she could. No words I write here today will express how much she has contributed to the team even as she juggles multiple busy jobs…and may I add, during a global pandemic. I am grateful for my cousin Rachael, who’s early hard work in the podcast made it possible for us to grow this platform as large as we have today. As I write this post today, our YouTube videos (consisting mainly of our podcast interviews) have been viewed over 10,000 times and that is not even counting the numbers from our seven other podcast platforms where the episodes are uploaded on.
I am grateful for my high school friend Alex, who’s college connections made it possible for the completion of the first round of our prototypes for our wheelchair accessory line. I am grateful to my friend Marena, who created our beautiful website while juggling multiple busy jobs and raising a beautiful little girl as a single mom. I am grateful to my friend and illustrator, Bridget, who’s hard work and dedication made it possible for us to publish our first children’s book earlier this year. And I can go on and on and on and on... There are so many more. Jade, Wayne, Kristine, etc. and many others, I’m sorry I cannot go into detail with each and every one of your contributions because I’m afraid people have already scrolled to the next post on their Facebook feed. But your hard work, your trust, your belief in our mission, your desire to contribute towards a mission that is greater than all of us is so very much appreciated.
It is easy for me to take all the credit since I am the only person you see in front of the cameras on our podcast videos, but that wouldn’t be fair to my team nor would it be even close to true. For any dream that is as big as the TGOW mission to become fully realized, it requires a whole community of amazing people like you. I am lucky that the people above and many, many, MANY more who I have not listed above were willing to sacrifice their time, give their heart, and share their skills in our mission to create a platform that can contribute to the common good in changing perceptions.
Even though the mission has not been fully realized yet (not even close) and we have a LONG way to go, we have been able to progress as far as we have because so many of my friends and so many strangers who I don’t even know, joined the team for as long or as short of a time as they could afford to help realize the vision, a vision that is bigger than all of us. And for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the generosity of your time and skills over these last two years and for your continual support as we move forward. As one of my favorite President once said, “because in a generous America you don't have to be rich to achieve your potential.”
I hope we can fully realize the vision I have envisioned for TGOW, but one thing I know for sure, I cannot do it alone nor could I have started this process and lasted this long anywhere else on this earth. As Vice President Joe Biden said yesterday, “I have always believed you can define America in one word: Possibilities.” In America, even the triple minority group (also known as those who experience the triple oppression -- oppression by race, gender, and disability) can also have the audacity to dream big and try to reach their fullest potential not only for themselves, but for the common good.
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